Church to break ground in Ogden

OGDEN — The ceremonial beginning of construction on a four-story office building at Washington Boulevard and 22nd Street takes place today.

Zions Securities Corp., real estate management company associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ensign Plaza South mixed-use building at 3 p.m. Among those attending will be Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey and representatives of the LDS Church's Presiding Bishopric.

The church announced plans for the building last fall.

"We have watched continued growth in downtown Ogden since 2000 when we built the Colonial Court Apartments in this area," Gary D. Chaston, general manager of Zions Securities, said Thursday in a prepared statement. "New buildings such as the Twin Rivers complex, the DaVinci School, the intermodal transit hub and a new recreation center have all added to a strong renaissance in downtown Ogden."

The 75,000-square-foot building will be on a 1.2-acre parcel at 2225 Washington Blvd., just south of the Ogden LDS Temple and near the development called The Junction, the former site of the Ogden City Mall. Construction will begin early this summer and finish by autumn of 2007.

Ensign Plaza South's anchor tenant will be administrative, accounting and advisory firm J.D. Clark & Co., which will occupy the top two floors. The building also will feature ground-floor retail space, underground parking, wide plazas and a main entrance fountain at Washington Boulevard and 22nd Street. As designed by MHTN Architects, the building will have gold and red exterior stone aimed at complementing existing downtown Ogden buildings.

Zions Securities will manage and lease the building.